STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The incoming second-in-command for the city Department of Education faced one of his first challenges last night since his new post was announced: facing the criticisms of Staten Island education leaders on the weaknesses of the school system.

Staten Island Advance/Hilton FloresShael Polakow-Suransky, the incoming second-in-command for the city Department of Education, looks over a report during his visit to the Petrides School in Sunnyside.

Shael Polakow-Suransky, the soon-to-be chief academic officer, was grilled last night by parents, principals and education advocates on everything from the overreliance of test scores to the most recent controversial decision by the mayor to appoint Hearst Magazines executive Cathleen Black as the new schools chancellor, effective in January.

At no point did he break a sweat. Rather, during the Community Education Council 31 meeting held at the Michael J. Petrides School in Sunnyside, Suransky, seemed to have a genuine interest in hearing what parents had to say; he listened attentively and answered each question thoroughly and gracefully.

At the meeting, he gave a presentation on changes to be made in schools by 2013, particularly with regard to state tests, including adding more writing and researching components.

Among his goals, he expressed a desire to take advantage of the city's "talented educators" and seek parental input in major decision-making processes -- a main criticism of outgoing Schools Chancellor Joel Klein.

"I think having conversations like this tonight where there's an honest dialogue about where people's concerns are is one place to start," said Suransky, who is currently a deputy chancellor.

His first order of business, however, was defending his new boss.

"I would ask you, for whatever concerns that you may have, to actually get to know her," he said. "Because I've spent some time with her over the past few weeks and I'm very impressed. I think she's a strong leader. I think the mayor really knows how to pick people and I think...we're going to be a good team."